[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

She shook her head, “Course not,” she concurred, “They wouldn’t give up- I mean, people are still looking for Madeleine McCann,” she wasn’t sure why her Mum had thought that that would be good family viewing for the King clan but they’d all cozied up on the couch with snacks to watching the Netflix documentary together when it had first been released. She looked over at Luna then and nodded her head, “Yeah,” she agreed, though part of her questioned her own confidence. Would they go to the news? Would they go to anyone or would they give up and accept that their youngest was missing? She dreaded the thought. 

“I’m good,” she assured the other girl, looking back up at the sky then, trying to locate the Southern Cross again. “I can’t imagine being out here by myself,” she admitted. Sure, she’d clashed with some of the other girls but she was extremely grateful for their company. She was sure she’d have given up already had she been the sole survivor. 

***

“Exactly. They’ll find us.” Luna tried not to think about how Madeleine McCann was never found, assuring herself that a four year old was different to a bunch of teenagers. A bunch of teenagers stranded on a desert island, where most of them had little to no survival skills. Luna certainly didn’t--not when navigating by stars wasn’t useful. Well... In fairness, she had some medical skills picked up over the year. But whether or not she’d know what to do here? With the lack of equipment, and in very different contexts? It was doubtful.

“Good.” She nodded, grimacing. “I think I’d go crazy alone here,” she agreed. Luna looked at Joss closer again. “Your jumper’s from Wesley, right? I swear you seem familiar.”

[cinemaportrait]

i want you to wanna kiss me so bad that you don’t even ask

[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

“Hey,” Joss chimed, the moment she caught sight of Luna, seemingly in good health. It was strange, she considered, how much she valued the well being of girls she hardly knew, purely so that she didn’t have to be alone or worse, have to bury another body.  “Last night was fucked, hey? That literally just came outta nowhere,” if she’d been more well equipped for the wilderness, she probably could have spotted the warning signs. The smell of rain in the air, clouds that were darker than usual, the wind picking up. However, Joss had been distracted and the storm had ultimately come as a shock to the blonde. “I heard you were part of the cave crew,” she’d heard because she’d asked, wanting to know the details of what she’d missed out on, “How was it? You guys played games?”

***

Luna nodded. “Definitely crazy.” She hadn’t been able to recognise the storm coming either until just beforehand when the temperature had dropped like a brick, making her feel freezing cold right before the rain had begun to pour. “I think my socks are still wet too, which is just gross.” Luckily everything else had pretty much dried now, leaving her a little less cold. It lingered though, and Luna longed to lie in the sun until she warmed properly.

“Yeah, I followed the others to it.” She nodded, not really paying attention to where she was walking. “Dry at least. Still a bit c--” She was cut off as her foot slipped when the rock she stepped on rolled away. She fell, sliding and rolling down the steep hill until she landed in a large, muddy puddle of freezing cold water. “Shit.” 

[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

“Better safe than sorry,” she concurred, though even in pairs or in a large group for that matter, the girls remained vulnerable to the island and whatever it had in store for them. “Me too,” she smiled at that, remembering colouring in the Australian flag during pre-school, the southern cross included.

She nodded her head in agreement, “True,”  she offered, for a lack of anything more poetic to tell the other girl in response. “That was just a plane though, in the middle of the water- we’re here, they’ve got to find us,” she insisted, either to convince Luna or to comfort herself or perhaps both at once. “It gets cold at night, hey? You alright?” she asked, looking over at the other girl. Maybe it was the darkness and the way the trees isolated them from the other girls but suddenly Joss felt her blood run cold and a shiver move up her spine.

***

“We have a better chance of surviving until they find us,” Luna agreed. “And they searched for weeks for them, so they’re probably still looking anyway. I don’t think they’d give up. My parents would probably go to the news if they did.” And what a news story that would be. Especially when so many local people knew Luna already. “Wouldn’t yours?”

She flashed a quick smile and shrugged. “I’m fine.” She did pull her jacket closer though. Not that it did much use; it was designed for much warmer weather than this. “You?”

[lcvelylunaa]

ofjcnnys​:

They watched with intrigue, following Luna’s fingers as she traced out the shapes she talked about and ended in looking the way that the stars pointed south. They had already sort of been able to figure out their compass, given that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, but it was still pretty cool. “ That’s dope. Our stars back home don’t do anything cool like that. The Dippers are the only ones I know, and even then you can only really see the Little Dipper from the city. ” They weren’t really one for being interested in stars. But when they were little, and then again a few months ago, pointing out the North Star with their Mother had been a part of their routine before bed. 

Jenny hadn’t and didn’t consider that Luna was including herself in the critique of the Southern Hemisphere. No one back home cared what their opinion was, they hadn’t quite realised it was different on the island. They simply gave a small smile and exhale through their nose in response to her jokey tone. The answer to her question was no. But, Jenny wasn’t gonna say it so bluntly when they were trying to recover from being such a dick to her. “ That’s not true. It helps give a sense of direction here. Plus, kinda reminds me that we’re actually somewhere. Not just floating in space, or whatever, you know? ”

***

“You’ve got that North Star, right? Points North like this points South.” Maybe that wasn’t visible from the city either though. “My parents sometimes took me out to the country or down the coast. That was when I could see more of them.” They thought it would be good for her to get away from the city and everything that came with it, when she wasn’t needing treatments. To cleaner air and fewer people. Luna didn’t really like it much, except for the stars. Still nothing like this.

Luna was surprised at how tactful Jenny suddenly was, and looked at her suspiciously. Did she know something about Luna? Was this pity suddenly? Luna wanted nothing less than that. “Yeah. Guess so.”

[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

“Sorry,” she uttered instinctively, though she admittedly didn’t sound all that apologetic. “Yeah, nah, I just- I was awake and I heard you go this way,” she explained, trying to play off the fact that she’d intentionally followed the other girl more casually than it sounded. She smiled when Luna did and nodded her head in agreement, “Must be,” she concurred, admiring the constellation. She thought Southern Cross tattoos and car decals were trashy as hell but in the sky above the island, the stars were just about the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, she considered.

She thought about the other girl’s words for a moment, “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse,” she admitted, “I like the idea of being close to home but if we’re that close, how come they haven’t found us yet?” she questioned rhetorically, knowing that nobody had the answers any of them were looking for.

***

Luna shook her head. “It’s alright. Buddy system, right?” She didn’t want to admit that she was often nocturnal like this, and restless as all hell. She itched to do something, despite the dark and the strange environment. “It was the first constellation I learnt. Easiest to find really. I just didn’t expect to see it here.”

Joss’s comment wasn’t something she’d considered yet, but thinking on it now, she nodded. Worse, she reckoned, personally. How come no one had found them? The plane had to have had GPS, right? Her parents would definitely have tried to call her by now; for once Luna didn’t feel annoyed by the thought of their overbearing protectiveness. “It’s a big ocean,” she mused, half to herself. “There was that plane a few years ago that was just never found.” She kicked at a rock and shrugged. “They will find us. We’ve survived this long.” Luna wasn’t just talking about the island either; she’d faced death so many times that it felt both incredibly close and entirely impossible.

[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

Joss was no more than a few hundred metres from the sand and yet, with the trees forming thick canopies overhead, the blonde felt like she was a million miles from anything or anyone. When she heard the syllables of her own name, she wondered for a second if it was real or if it was a hallucination. The accent; it was familiar and inspired a sort of warmth under Jocelyn’s skin that she hadn’t felt in days.

Luna. It was Luna, she realised a moment later, feeling foolish for having doubted her own hearing. “Luna?” she called out, turning over her shoulder, trying to get a sense of where the voice had come from. “I’m-” near some trees and some rocks? Yeah, good one. She was need to do better than that if she hoped to provide some sort of indication of where she was standing. “I’m all good! Keep talking, I’ll come to you!”

***

Luna perked up when she heard Joss reply, not realising until that moment how worried she’d been about her. They’d already lost one other survivor, Luna really didn’t want to lose Jocelyn too. Especially since the other was closer to her life at home than they’d realised until the other night. “Over here!” she shouted back, trying to move closer to the voice. Her shoes slipped under her a bit, but she managed not to fall as she quickly descended towards Joss.

[lcvelylunaa]

“Jocelyn? Joss?” The island was still reeling from the storm that had finally passed. The rain had turned climbable rocks into slippery dangers, and dirt paths into mud slides. But Luna had never been one to consider her own safety much. And if Joss was stuck somewhere, Luna couldn’t just leave her there. “Jocelyn! Where are you?!” 

[lcvelylunaa]

beccenss​:

“—The what now?” The words fell out of Becca before she realized it was probably more polite to announce herself, rather than just blurt a question from the dark and not expect the other blond to maybe not shit herself in surprise. Becca took a step forward into the moonlight, quick to expose herself from the trees. Her hands collected in front of her pelvis, fingers awkwardly tugging at each other because while in normal, everyday life she had no qualms about approaching random strangers and striking up a conversation, but this was different. Everything about this place was different. It had made her different.

“Sorry… I couldn’t sleep either and I figure nobody should traipse the woods alone, y’know, it’s like… Survival 101, so…” Becca trailed off, trying to get a good read of the other girl but it was dark and the moon backlit her, giving her a silver silhouette and not much else for her to go off.

Blond, athin frame, kind of skinny legs… not the kind that took beach runs like the other blond Becca had seen after she’d woken up. No thick arm swimmer arms, or cropped hair. The opposite, really. “Are you talking about the stars?” A stab in the dark. Becca didn’t know too much about astrology, but she knew enough to know that The Southern Cross was foreign to her and while she remained sleepless, she wouldn’t mind at least filling her time with new knowledge.

***

Luna jumped, turning and stepping back as she did when she heard a voice in the dark. Becca revealed herself quickly and Luna sighed with relief. Of course it was one of the others. Who else would it be? Who else could it be? She smiled, trying to gather her thoughts back up. “Uh, the Southern Cross.”

“It’s alright. You’re probably right.” Luna didn’t know much about survival. She hadn’t even been camping since she was five. There was plenty of survival she did know--hospitals, medicines, sneaking out--but not in the wild like this. This was everything foreign to her. She wrapped her arms around herself, pulling her light jacket closer. 

“Yeah,” she smiled, turning back towards the stars she’d been looking at. “Up there, it’s the first constellation I knew. Means we’re still in the Southern Hemisphere. And that way’s South.” She turned back, not noticing how close she was getting to the edge now. “Not much use getting us off this place, but maybe it narrows it down.”

[lcvelylunaa]

jocelyn-king​:

Joss wasn’t sure whether it was Luna’s stirring or something else that had woken her up that evening. It was possible she’d been in a half-conscious state for hours and that Luna getting up from her spot in the camp was just the most interesting thing to have happened in that time; enough to rouse Jocelyn fully. She sat up sluggishly but by the time she had conjured the words to say to Luna, the other girl was gone.

Where was she going? Joss wondered, reminded of how Shane had done something similar, drawn to the shore as if being pulled by a string. Did they know something Jocelyn didn’t? She decided to find out and pulled her sneakers on as her mind started to clear from whatever duration of sleep she had had that evening.

Joss followed the other girl, careful were she stepped, so as not to alarm her as she tailed. When they reached a clearing, Jocelyn was almost certain Luna was heading to a source of fresh water, a new berry bush or similar as she traveled seemingly with a plan in mind. Then she spoke and Joss cocked her head. Stargazing? Is that all this was?

Then she looked up too. “Oh yeah,” she uttered, forgetting she was supposed to be incognito. 

***

“Shit.” Luna startled when she heard Joss behind her, not expecting anyone. “Have you been there the whole time?” she asked. It wasn’t that Luna didn’t like being around people--she loved it--but she felt more vulnerable when she was alone. Like she wasn’t reconciling the two halves of herself.

She quickly smoothed her features and smiled at Joss. “We’re still in the Southern Hemisphere. Maybe even not that far from home.”

[holxpyre]

Her foot was sore but it felt better and she could walk normally, rather happy that her pain was not for nothing and they at least had some food now. Deciding she’d done enough for one day, she took a nap. A rather short and sweet one pushed on by the mixture of heat and exhaustion. It wasn’t until distant noise had woken her up that she’d realise there has been a change of events. — Her suitcase appeared to her wrapped in a halo, like an oasis to a thirsty man in a desert and she ran to it like a child. “Oh my God, yes yes thank you Jesus!” but her smile drops and her features soak with rage the closer she gets until finally she is stood above the Luis Vuitton suitcase in utter disbelief. “What the actual fucking fuck! Who did this? Who did this? Guys this is not fucking funny this suitcase is worth more than this whole fucking Island it has…it has literal diamonds on it are you insane?!” she’ll crash on her knees and grab onto her pink robe wrapping it around herself as she pulls the vibrator and the make up bag, unwrapping the champagne. “It’s all intact I’m so fucking happy….”

[lcvelylunaa]

The suitcase was certainly like a bit of a miracle when it washed up. And Luna had watched from a nearby rock as Shane had taken her make-shift knife and cut it open. After all, it was locked, and who knew if anyone had the key still? It could have something useful inside, and no amount of fretting over the price would get that out. That seemed obvious to her. So when Alexa started freaking out and shrieking about the damage they’d done to it, Luna couldnt help laughing. “It’s a bag. Why do you have a bag that’s covered in diamonds anyway?” As Alexa pulled stuff out, Luna came closer to see what was inside. “Have you got any kind of jumper? Uh, sweater? It’s cold.”

[lcvelylunaa]

ofjcnnys​:

Okay, she didn’t tell Jenny to fuck off. Seeing as Jenny knew they could rub people the wrong way at the best of times, they were gonna take that as a win. And an invitation to stay. They shoved their hands in the pockets of their hoodie now they were done wiggling branches. “ No shit, ” they said, impressed with her know how as they looked to the sky. They’d never seen the Southern Cross before. But, they could guess the shape. Spotting the cross, thought not realising the South Eastern star, Ginan, was also a part of it. “ I think I can see it too, ” they pointed up, drawing the cross out with their finger, as if Luna would know exactly which in the hundreds, thousands of stars above their heads they were talking about. “ There, right? ” 

However the other thing she said was haunting, and not something they had considered. Up until that point they had assumed they had to be somewhere between Hawaii and California. Even though there was no where between those two states to be. Hawaii was in the Northern Hemisphere. Where the fuck were they? Where the fuck had that plane been taking them? The charter plane out of New York hadn’t been so long that they’d gone to the Southern Hemisphere, right? Jesus. “ No offence to the Southern Hemisphere, but as a first timer, it’s not really leaving a great impression. ” They joked dryly, letting conspiracies fester inside instead of voicing them. It wouldn’t be real nice of them to have ignored Luna for days to then dump four days worth of conspiracy brain on them. It wouldn’t be fair.

***

Luna thought for a moment that Jenny was being sarcastic, that they thought she was pointing out the obvious, and she ducked her head. But it seemed that she had it wrong, that they were instead impressed with what she knew. She nodded as Jenny traced out the shape. “And, if you trace a line down the cross,” she said, gesturing with one hand, “and one at a right angle to those two,” she gestured to the Pointers with her other hand, “the point where they meet is south.” Her hands met as she spoke, pointing towards--or as close as she could guess towards--South.

She let her eyes be pulled away again as Jenny spoke, frowning. “This was meant to be the first time I left it,” she replied. “Wish we could make a better impression on you,” she added, trying to return the joking tone. “Not much use, I guess. The stars. What good is knowing which way you’re going if you don’t know which way you need to go?”

[lcvelylunaa]

ofjcnnys​:

They were curled up on their side, watching the fire dance against the darkness, when they heard movement. It didn’t spook them, or surprise them. They simply assumed it was one of the others that were a part of the no-sleep gang. Shane or Mara most likely. They were surprised when it was a taller figure that passed them to walk away from the group. Her platinum blonde hair was unmistakable. It reminded them so much of their old friend. To the point Jenny had mostly been avoiding interacting too much with her. Sticking to the ones they had come to like, ones that didn’t remind them of such a painful memory.

They didn’t know why they decided tonight was the time to break that. But they didn’t like the idea of Luna walking away on her own, especially after they didn’t hear any other movement around them from the rest of the girls. They stood, stepping away before they dusted the sand off of them. Well, a little bit of the sand. There was no way they were gonna bother dusting it all off, especially not when they’d likely lie down again before sunrise. They were surprised she went into the forest, it seemed a bold move to go in there at night, and alone no less. But Jenny followed all the same. 

When they came to the same clearing she’d arrived to they paused. She seemed very in her own world, looking up at the stars. And seeing as she was on a cliff, though not especially close to the edge, Jenny didn’t want to frighten her. So instead of announcing themselves in a traditional sort of way, they reached for a bush by their side, rattling the branches so they’d make a noise. One that wasn’t as startling as someone just start to speak out of no where, but would still get her attention. “ Hey, ” they greeted, letting go of the bush and stepping forward. “ Didn’t wanna spook you, and you know, buddy system or whatever. ” Not that one had been officially implemented in the group, but still, walking around alone at night didn’t feel quite safe. “ What’cha lookin’ at? ”

***

Luna jumped when she heard Jenny behind her, turning quickly, half expecting some kind of animal to have followed her. But no, it was one of the others. How close behind her had they been? Had Luna really not even heard as they approached until now? Lost in her own world it seemed. Space girl.

“Oh. Hi.”

Luna felt strangely shy as the other survivor stepped out into the moonlight. It was hard not to notice how Jenny had avoided her these past four days. At first Luna thought she was reading into it too much, but it had become clear. Every time Luna approached, it seemed Jenny would quickly disappear. And it wasn’t just that they were misanthropic or shy; Luna saw them talking with others just fine. But not her.

“Right, yeah. Buddy system.” It reminded her of home, of sneaking into clubs and bars. Stick to the buddy system! We can do whatever we want as long as we stick together... “Um.” She looked back up, a smile on her face despite herself. “The stars. Constellations, actually. I recognise them.” She pointed up. “There’s the Southern Cross. We’re still in the Southern Hemisphere.”

[lcvelylunaa]

During the day, Luna felt distinctly useless here. She had zero survival skills, she’d never been anywhere like this before and she had no way to get off this island. It was beautiful, or would be if they had enough food and shelter. But the nights were her favourite. Far from any civilisation, and no light but the camp fire, the stars shone overhead. Brighter than she’d seen even when her parents would drive them to the countryside. Brighter than that one school camp in cabins in the bush a few kilometres outside a rural town. They spilt across the sky, so numerous that you understood why it was called the Milky Way. The first few nights, Luna had simply stared up at them from beside the camp fire before falling asleep. 

Tonight, however, she was restless. Without waking anyone--or at least, so she thought--she walked away from camp, up through the forest. Pushing through the bush, she climbed upwards until she came to a clearing on a small cliff. Beneath her waves crashed against rocks--the constant rhythmic soundtrack to their time here--and above her that beautiful map. But from up here, a different part of the island, she saw what she hadn’t seen the other nights.

“The Southern Cross,” she murmured. Well, that narrowed down where they were to... well, half the planet. Probably somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. Which made sense if they were headed to Hawai’i. But it felt significant to see this constellation she was so familiar with. And now that she’d seen one, she couldn’t help but trace out the others. They’d been lost in the sea of stars before, but now they almost stood out to her, as if shining brighter.

[ofhowlingxs-deactivated20240927]

“so good news,” she’s taking a step back, using her t-shirt as an example as it’s threaded between her fingertips. “i managed to break apart some of the palm leaves, and took some fallen branches, to string them together. if we still have a couple of those life vests leftover– you know, the worthless ones with holes? we can do the same thing, tie them together and loop ‘em over that awning i made. it’ll collect rain water at night while we’re sleeping, and condensation during the day. it’s not much, but it’d be enough for us to use as drinking water– or to wash our clothes. there’s some aloe a little further into the woods over there, could use that as soap- or we can eat it, if there’s not enough water.” she’s tossing her shirt over her shoulder, wiping the sweat from her brows. “a t-shirt won’t work, because it’s cotton, the fabric just soaks up most the moisture, it has to be the vests.” she’ll pause a minute, taking a step towards the awning and tying the wood a little tighter with the palm leaves, just to make sure it’s secure. “the wind’s not gonna’ blow it over, either– i dug anchors into the sand and surrounded it with some rocks that washed up on the shore.” finally, she’s glancing back over her shoulder at the other, blinking in confusion with tethered brows. “what? why are you looking at me like that? it’s just– basic survival training.” she’ll give them a once over, before shaking her head and nodding towards the bit of woods. “so, if you wanna’ come, i’m going to go looking for some running water, if we find any– it’s unlimited, and we can actually bathe properly.”

[lcvelylunaa]

Luna had woken up later than the others, after someone had already died. Quietly, she was glad for that. She’d been to enough funerals and seen more than enough bodies for an entire lifetime. She did feel rather useless here now, especially watching Maya explaining the awning she’d made and her plan to collect drinking water. Luna’s parents spoke sometimes of how they’d gone camping and the like when Luna was little, but she didn’t remember any of it. It was all before she got sick. And since then her parents certainly didn’t want to take her on any kind of survival adventure, even if she’d wanted to. Hell, they didn’t even let her go on school camp until the last one in year 8, and that was in cabins with (questionable) food being cooked for you! The most ‘survival’-esque aspect of that camp was the low ropes course held in the bush.

So, yes she was staring just a little. With envy, with amazement. “I don’t know any of this stuff,” she admitted freely, grinning at the other. “It’s impressive though. Yeah, alright. I could do with any kind of bath honestly.” Her make-up from the first day was mostly gone, but mascara and eyeliner still lingered around her eyes.

[lcvelylunaa]

MEET THE LOVELY LUNA JACOBS!

tw: cancer, death mention

BASIC INFORMATION

NAME: Luna Jacobs

NICKNAMES: Loons, Moony

BIRTHDAY: 22nd February

AGE: 18

HOMETOWN: Melbourne, Australia

BIRTHPLACE: Mildura, Australia

RELIGION: N/A

ETHNICITY: White

NATIONALITY: Australian

EDUCATION: In Year 11, but missed a lot of school as a child

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single

SOCIAL CLASS: Middle Class

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

HEIGHT: 178cm

EYES: Grey

HAIR: Blonde

BUILD: Slim

DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Luna has multiple scars on her torso from various surgeries and one down her left forearm

NOTABLE FEATURES: Her smile

PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: N/A

ALLERGIES: none

PERSONALITY & BEHAVIOR

HOBBIES:

LIKES: wide open spaces, loud music, parties, silence

DISLIKES: being controlled, hospitals, funerals

QUIRKS:

STRENGTHS: Willing to give anything a go

WEAKNESSES: Sheltered by her parents who were afraid of losing her, still worried she’ll get sick again

POSITIVE TRAITS: Selfless, Caring, Adventurous

NEGATIVE TRAITS:  Naive, Reckless, Stubborn

MENTAL DISABILITIES: Some memory issues linked to childhood illness and treatment

SHARE 5 FUN FACTS ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER

Luna was diagnosed with cancer at age 6. She has been in remission since age thirteen, but missed a lot of school during that time.

She spent a lot of time in hospital and made a lot of friends who weren’t as lucky as she was. While she has friends at school now, none of them really know much about her.

Luna loves the stars, and especially loves seeing them without the light pollution of a city

Because they worry about losing her, Luna’s parents try to shelter and protect her from anything that might hurt her. She hates this, feeling like she’s being treated like glass. Still, she plays along in front of them, only to bunk off school or sneak out at night to get into trouble

Luna discovered she was gay when she was sixteen and had her heart broken two weeks before coming on this trip by her proper girlfriend

WHAT WAS YOUR CHARACTER WEARING ON THE FLIGHT?

Denim shorts with frayed edges

A cropped light blue tee with three small embroidered butterflies

 a bomber jacket in light pink

white sneakers

PLEASE LIST 3 PERSONAL ITEMS OF YOUR CHARACTER THAT WASHED UP ON SHORE

A galaxy coloured foldable cane (It was black, but she decorated it with spray paints. She doesn’t like using it much)

large sunglasses

a bottle of vitamins